the mothership visits - the first two days
I best start writing about my family's visit for my own record's sake. It was such a whirl of activity and two weeks whizzed by just like that.
Arrival
J and I took Bao to the airport to fetch everyone. The Bun was in school but he knew that we'd be there in the afternoon to pick him up together. While waiting in the Arrival Hall, Bao amused herself by trying to jump on and off a little step. She was very energetic and pleased with herself but the moment my family emerged and came over to say hello to her she turned away and suddenly became coy. It was very funny how she would look suspiciously out of the corner of her eye at my sister and mother, but at least she didn't cry and by the time we had all walked to the car she was smiling a bit and quite friendly.
We got home and everyone unpacked - vast amounts of food, snacks and medication. My mother played with Bao, who warmed up quite quickly now that she was on familiar territory. Later on I put Bao down for her nap and we all ate sandwiches and pasta for lunch. I had intended to take them out for lunch but they were too hungry and tired and didn't want to go out.
We all went to pick The Bun up from school and spent a bit of time before that exploring the school grounds. The Bun ran straight into his grandmother's arms the moment he spotted her. On the way home he talked nonstop to her, telling her about school and Geneva and being very proud that he knew more about something than someone else for once. The family agreed that his accent had distinctly changed. What they didn't count on was that The Bun would go on to talk endlessly for the next two weeks to anyone who would listen. He was only silent when he was watching TV or asleep.
At home I cooked a quick dinner because The Bun had to be in bed at his usual early bedtime since he still had school the next day. I couldn't quite estimate just how much rice to cook for seven people and ended up cooking too little. (I should have cooked two-and-a-half cups, if anyone's interested.) At bedtime The Bun convinced his grandmother to read a very advanced book on the solar system to him and it took forever to get him into bed. I asked her to paraphrase but she said she couldn't do it on the spot so she ended up reading very complex sentences about planets and the Big Bang to him for ages.
The Bun and his grandmother and his Big Bang book
Everyone crashed out early that night with mad jet lag.
The second day
My mother and I sent The Bun to school so that she could get a peek into his classroom and see his teacher. We ended up chatting to Mrs B for a bit and she told us that The Bun had already talked about his grandma visiting. I can't imagine how much gossip she must hear because she also mentioned that The Bun had told her that his father drank chocolate beer at the chocolate festival!
After drop-off we took Bao to playgroup across the border. My mother has already heard many stories of Bao at playgroup so this was her chance to see her little firecracker in action. Things like dancing up a storm and doing all the actions to the songs at music time, 'helping' other kids down the slide (and shoving another kid away when it was her turn), making a big, gleeful mess during craft time, and stuffing her face with fruit during snack time. Classic Bao. I had asked my mother to buy some kueh lapis just before she flew from Singapore so I brought some of the cake to playgroup so that the other adults could try it. The cake was a big hit and something new for all of them.
We came home from playgroup, put Bao to nap, cooked some lunch and rested. My sister and her husband, G, had gone to town to shop and would only be back at dinner. The rest of the day progressed as usual - picking The Bun up from school, cooking dinner, handling the chaos before the kids went to bed, etc. It sounds very mundane but I think it was reassuring for my mother to see how our typical household routine works. She had been worried last summer that I wouldn't be able to cope with all the chores and the kids but I think I've proven that we are doing just fine, albeit slightly chaotically.
Since it was the last day of term for The Bun and Easter break had begun, J and I had lined up quite a few day trips for everyone over the weekend and the rest of the week, which I'll recap as we go along.
Arrival
J and I took Bao to the airport to fetch everyone. The Bun was in school but he knew that we'd be there in the afternoon to pick him up together. While waiting in the Arrival Hall, Bao amused herself by trying to jump on and off a little step. She was very energetic and pleased with herself but the moment my family emerged and came over to say hello to her she turned away and suddenly became coy. It was very funny how she would look suspiciously out of the corner of her eye at my sister and mother, but at least she didn't cry and by the time we had all walked to the car she was smiling a bit and quite friendly.
We got home and everyone unpacked - vast amounts of food, snacks and medication. My mother played with Bao, who warmed up quite quickly now that she was on familiar territory. Later on I put Bao down for her nap and we all ate sandwiches and pasta for lunch. I had intended to take them out for lunch but they were too hungry and tired and didn't want to go out.
We all went to pick The Bun up from school and spent a bit of time before that exploring the school grounds. The Bun ran straight into his grandmother's arms the moment he spotted her. On the way home he talked nonstop to her, telling her about school and Geneva and being very proud that he knew more about something than someone else for once. The family agreed that his accent had distinctly changed. What they didn't count on was that The Bun would go on to talk endlessly for the next two weeks to anyone who would listen. He was only silent when he was watching TV or asleep.
At home I cooked a quick dinner because The Bun had to be in bed at his usual early bedtime since he still had school the next day. I couldn't quite estimate just how much rice to cook for seven people and ended up cooking too little. (I should have cooked two-and-a-half cups, if anyone's interested.) At bedtime The Bun convinced his grandmother to read a very advanced book on the solar system to him and it took forever to get him into bed. I asked her to paraphrase but she said she couldn't do it on the spot so she ended up reading very complex sentences about planets and the Big Bang to him for ages.
The Bun and his grandmother and his Big Bang book
Everyone crashed out early that night with mad jet lag.
The second day
My mother and I sent The Bun to school so that she could get a peek into his classroom and see his teacher. We ended up chatting to Mrs B for a bit and she told us that The Bun had already talked about his grandma visiting. I can't imagine how much gossip she must hear because she also mentioned that The Bun had told her that his father drank chocolate beer at the chocolate festival!
After drop-off we took Bao to playgroup across the border. My mother has already heard many stories of Bao at playgroup so this was her chance to see her little firecracker in action. Things like dancing up a storm and doing all the actions to the songs at music time, 'helping' other kids down the slide (and shoving another kid away when it was her turn), making a big, gleeful mess during craft time, and stuffing her face with fruit during snack time. Classic Bao. I had asked my mother to buy some kueh lapis just before she flew from Singapore so I brought some of the cake to playgroup so that the other adults could try it. The cake was a big hit and something new for all of them.
We came home from playgroup, put Bao to nap, cooked some lunch and rested. My sister and her husband, G, had gone to town to shop and would only be back at dinner. The rest of the day progressed as usual - picking The Bun up from school, cooking dinner, handling the chaos before the kids went to bed, etc. It sounds very mundane but I think it was reassuring for my mother to see how our typical household routine works. She had been worried last summer that I wouldn't be able to cope with all the chores and the kids but I think I've proven that we are doing just fine, albeit slightly chaotically.
Since it was the last day of term for The Bun and Easter break had begun, J and I had lined up quite a few day trips for everyone over the weekend and the rest of the week, which I'll recap as we go along.